Union Budget 2009-10 offers increased outlays for rail, civil aviation and tourism industry

The significant increase in the outlay for Railways from Rs 10,800 crore during the Interim Budget to Rs 15,800 crore in the Union Budget 2009-2010 presented today by Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee brought about a positive outlook in the industry. However, with minimal increase in outlays for the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Ministry of Tourism (MoT) has evoked mixed reactions in the travel and tourism industry. The capital outlay for MoCA is Rs 887 crore for financial year 2009-10 an increase of Rs 31 crore over the previous year (Rs 856 crore), while the MoT received a capital outlay of Rs 1070 crore for the financial year 2009-10 an increase of Rs 23 crore over the previous year (Rs 1050.53 crore).

Speaking to TravelBiz Monitor, Ashwini Kakkar, Executive Vice Chairman, Mercury Travels Ltd. said, “The Railways has received a substantial boost with the allocation, whereas one cannot ignore the fact that the MoCA and MoT have also received very minimal budget allocation. However, the amount that government intends to spend on various sectors like roads, education,